Truth32

I've seen the guys roll up in Lambos and Ferraris at Cars and Coffee. While the flappy paddle gear box is probably brilliant on the track, when those guys are rolling up very slowly, you should see the way the cars jerk back and forth. It's kind of funny.

SlowTeg

I think many might think the complete opposite of you. Heel toeing and shifting is part of the fun on track, just like turning in at the right point, throttle control, braking, etc. Shifting IS part of the experience, although I can see the appeal, as it's much easier with automatic rev matching and pushing a lever to shift gears. As far as I'm concerned, anything that involves "magic" (a computer controlled device outside of the engine) makes driving less engaging and more video game like. If you find shifting gears "highly annoying" you likely just haven't spent much time on track, because the s2k's gearbox is a real gem. I think people watch a few youtube videos of track days and think "I could do that." Then they visit the track and realize it's a lot harder than it looks (everything always is).

No doubt dct's are faster, but as a fun track car/street car, I could careless about shaving a second or less off my time for bragging rights. If that's your goal then by all means stick with a DCT.

As others said, DCT's I'd bet are largely prevalent BECAUSE people don't want to have to put as much effort into driving, and liability reasons for the manufacturers. Your average Ferrari owner likely just wants to hop in the car once a month and putz around. Burning out a clutch or damaging something mechanical is just a nuisance to them, and thus it's been taken out of the equation. The other advantage is that you can drop the 0-60 or 1/4 mile time another .5 sec, which is great for marketing.

s4play

Let me be the first to say ANYTHING is possible if you got the moolah! I've seen people convert Mustangs to Lambo's so tons of rich people out there that will do this stuff.

But from a normal guy's standpoint the cost would be astronomical! I can't even fathom the costs and risks....


But on a side note I do get to drive my buddies 458 when he leaves it with me on long travels to Asia and I can tell you this car is AMAZING with the paddles. You really won't miss it much trust me. And this is coming from a guy who is just like you and HATES paddles. I would never own a GTR for same reason. It's too bad every brand is moving away from the manual tranny as we are a dying breed. One of the big reasons I just sold me e90 m3 was because of the DCT. It was the first m3 I ever owned with a paddle because my wife wanted to drive the car. Irony is she only drove it a handful of times and I was stuck the rest of the time with a lackluster box.

s.hasan546

not really funny, most of those auto boxes are pretty rough when going slowly.

Archon007

Same here. Always loved manual...but the 458 was just an amazing car to drive even with those "stupid" flappy paddles lol

JonBoy

Which is why Honda incorporated a torque converter into their new DCT. It smooths out the shifts at low speeds and locks at higher speeds so that you don't lose efficiency...

WolfpackS2k

That's exactly why it's funny.

Scot

Because you are likely the only person in the world who would want drum brakes on a supercar, maybe?
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Why would you want to bring old tech into a new 2014/15 car? You want to carb that engine as well? How about an AM radio as well?
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hahahahah... you all suck.... a manual shift takes a little more skill but is WAY more fun!!! I don't care if it does a qtr mile half a second slower due to shifting.... where is the fun banging paddles compared to heal and toe-ing, etc.....

if we are going back to AM radio's we may as well get some Rumble Seats installed too.

SlowTeg

Scot,

I completely agree. People who say a manual shifter is "old tech" haven't got a clue imo. If people think a manual tranny is equivalent to drum brakes then they fundamentally are missing something. The brake system is to help the car STOP. Drum brakes are old tech, and nothing was "lost" when going from drums to discs. What about carbs? An engine is meant to run, and never has been MANUALLY controlled by a human when driving. It used to be mechanically controlled with carbs, but now it's merely electronically controlled with a computer and injectors. Again, nothing was "lost."

Going from a manual to a DCT/automanual/whatever you want to call it is most certainly different. You have automated an entire SYSTEM out of the driver to a push of a button. Why not just automate steering to a computer and let me control just the gas/brake? I'll just tell the car if the upcoming turn is right or left (by pushing two different buttons), and let the computer navigate the fastest way around the corner. Oh ya, I'll still control the gas/brake. Logically it's not very different.

I'm not even going to respond to an AM radio.. When we have fully automated cars, I can sit in the driver's seat while scratching my balls and claim to be the superior driver..

Btw, don't confuse my statements with me saying that automanuals/DCT's/etc are crap. They have their place. Just the argument that manuals are "old tech" is a joke.

deepbluejh

Once all of the manual lovers start buying new sports cars again, we might actually have a chance of keeping some around in the future.